Let There Be Light

At some point you will need artificial, high output lights (strobes) to photograph basketball. The NBA and 'Sports Illustrated' lead the way. Go to John Biever's or David Liam Kyle's (www.davidliamkyle.com) webpages to see examples of this in action True, they're using big blackline systems but you can get useful results with White Lightning strobes at a fraction of the cost. (www.paulc.buff.com)

Once you have the monolights (don't forget a safety cable), hang them in the rafters on either side side of key pointing toward the basket on 4 corners. What's useful is to question an NBA shooter on suggestions for exact placement. Be sure you have the Sports Reflectors on the monolights (to direct the light where you want it). Wire 1 (one) of the monolights to a plug receptacle for your Pocket Wizard (www.pocketwizard.com). Set the remaining monolights on slave, get a strobe light reading under the basket and fire away!

Don't try to motor-drive the action. Be selective and leave a little time for the strobes to recycle before shooting. Wait for the athletes to take their foul shot. Flashes may break a basketball players' concentration.

Speaking of refs. There are friendly ones (often would ask me if I got their best side) but there are some that interpret the rules quite differently. Making stuff up to make your job more difficult is directly related to the personality and ask with a holier-than-thou-face, (Are you going to use that flash for the whole game?). You know, I have the job to get the best images possible and if that means I stay for the whole game, yep! the stobes go along with the assignment. I made an agreement, you pay attention to the game and I'll make the photographs. Pretty good deal, don't you think? After all, I don't know everything about basketball but I am a professional too.